H 32°, L 7° | Tomorrow: 
H 17°, L 4°After the least productive, most divisive, most bitter and most meaningless legislative session in memory (or at least since the last one), the Wisconsin Legislature is going home (thank goodness) without having taken a single step toward cleaning up the dishonest campaign-fund-raising system that has corrupted public policy-making in the Capitol and skewed state elections. It has also neglected to act on legislation to reform and empower the state’s discredited ethics and elections boards.
Instead, the Legislature spent its time on passing legislation that the vast majority of Wisconsinites do not want and did not ask for — almost all of which will never be enacted into law. This session was not about lawmaking and serious public policy as much as it was about appeasing special-interest groups and loading up the arsenal for next year’s elections in order to play nasty, demeaning “gotcha” politics.
Good riddance.
Common Cause in Wisconsin is working with Sen. Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, and other legislators sincere about reform in reshaping a sweeping comprehensive campaign-finance-reform measure, Senate Bill 12, which the legislative leadership — Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, and Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer, R-West Bend, fiercely resisted throughout 2003 and which Gov. Jim Doyle failed to exercise a single ounce of political capital in favor of, after promising to make reform a priority in his campaign last year.
But we will be back early in 2004 and then again and again, pushing for reform until the state’s “leaders” get with the program.
The commencement of the criminal trials early in 2004 of legislators charged in the legislative caucus scandal in June and October 2002 ought to help focus public attention on what was wrong then — and still hasn’t been fixed in a state once revered for its clean and honest politics.
To find out why reform didn’t happen this year and what’s holding it up, as well as why it will occur sooner or later, you can access four articles below in which Common Cause in Wisconsin provides insight and commentary about the state of campaign-finance reform in Wisconsin today:
“Campaign Reform Fervor Falters”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — Nov. 9, 2003 www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/nov03/182687.asp
“Campaign Finance Reform - Moribund in Madison”
Wisconsin Alliance of Cities Newsletter — Nov. 14, 2003
www.wiscities.org/newsletter.htm#money
“Watchdog Angry Over No Reform”
The Capital Times — Nov. 5, 2003
www.madison.com/captimes/opinion/column/zaleski/60543.php
“Fool Me Once”
FightingBob.com — Nov. 3, 2003
www.fightingbob.com/article.cfm?articleID=131
Jay Heck
Executive director, Common Cause in Wisconsin
Columnist all wrong on Doyle
In Nicole Marklein’s editorial criticizing Gov. Doyle’s many vetoes, she ignored some statistics that would debase her argument. Specifically, I will address three crucial areas on the issue of conceal-and-carry.
1. An article in the Nov. 9 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has stated that 90 percent of county sheriffs would opt out of concealed carry altogether. The sheriffs cite the inability for their cash-strapped counties to fund the extensive background checks that would be required for every applicant, not to mention the safety concerns of adding more guns onto the street.
2. In another Badger Poll published the beginning of this month, of more than 500 Wisconsin residents, 69 percent said they oppose a proposal “to allow people who can legally own handguns to carry concealed weapons in most public places.”
3. Ms. Marklein claims that Gov. Doyle is out of touch with Wisconsin citizens and that his vetoes are hurting him politically. Again, this has not been proven to be the case. In an Oct. 21-28 poll, the number of respondents who said that Doyle was doing either an “excellent” or “good” job jumped from 34 percent to 41 percent. Although this is still a low number, the trend goes against Ms. Marklein’s claims that Doyle’s support is falling when, in fact, it is rising.
The fact is that sheriffs, cops and ordinary citizens across the state have deep reservations about allowing more guns onto the streets, and Gov. Doyle should be applauded for his veto.
Brian Bourke
UW senior, economics
